Can't get a fix for bad network service

Question

I've contacted Verizon Wireless customer service multiple times as well as going into my local store trying to resolve the very poor service I get when I'm at home. I am in a rural area but the problem is new. Having been with Verizon for around 6 years, I only noticed the problem over the last year or so. Thinking it was the last phone I had just going bad, I upgraded at Christmas.  No better. Possibly worse.  And now the additional problem of often not being able to send and/or receive text messages (both SMS and MMS).  I've been advised to have my SIM card replaced but I don't believe this is the issue since my daughter's phone and my husband's phone experience the same issues, and the problems are only when we are at home.  Attached is a MP3 of the voice quality I have to deal with.....

Answer 1

How good is your connectivity to Verizon from your Internet provider? Verizon, given their size, runs a Tier 1 backbone that connects Verizon Wireless, Verizon DSL, Verizon FiOS, Verizon Terremark, Verizon Enterprise, and other large bandwidth providers together to the rest of the Internet. Verizon is one of many that function similar.
There have been many reports of packet loss and jitter at peering points in/out of Verizon's network, which is what your phone's call sounds like it is suffering from. This causes issues with network performance for all that must hit the Verizon network. Perhaps you've seen all of the reports of slow FiOS and slow LTE in some areas of the US as of recent. These problems have been going on for months.
If you can give your repeater a try on another ISP, and if the problems go away, that should substantiate the claim. You can also try running the Verizon speed test (http://speedtest.verizon.com), and comparing it against something else such as www.speedtest.net. If the Verizon speed test shows widely varying speeds or is very slow, then you've found the problem.